A woman reportedly held for months as a sex slave managed to escape her captor by faking a pregnancy, police say.
Last Tuesday, officers with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia arrested Ismael Patricio Aguirre, 22, after a woman claimed that he had “made her a sex slave.” The woman claimed that between four and six months ago, Aguirre kidnapped her from her home in Charleston, South Carolina, and dragged her to Waynesboro, Georgia, about three hours west of Charleston. Conflicting reports indicate he then held her captive at either the Liberty Inn motel or at an apartment and forced her to eat, drink, have sex, and “basically be a puppet” to his demands.
The victim claimed that Aguirre threatened to kill or otherwise harm her children and mother if she did not comply. She also alleged that Aguirre repeatedly beat her physically and even made attempts to strangle her, so she concocted a ploy to make her escape.
On December 12, Aguirre and the alleged victim entered the nearby Burke Health medical facility via EMS, claiming that the woman was pregnant and had recently suffered bouts of unconsciousness. However, the woman then confided to a nurse that she was not actually pregnant, but that she needed help escaping Aguirre, whom she called an ex-boyfriend.
While the nurse and the victim were conversing, Aguirre reportedly became increasingly agitated. Some of the Burke Health staff claimed that Aguirre attempted to prevent the woman from speaking with them privately, so they decided to contact police.
The following day, police arrived at Aguirre’s residence and arrested him on multiple charges, including rape, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment. Aguirre has been booked into Burke County Detention Center and held without bond. It is unclear when he is expected to appear in court.
He has also been charged with battery, though jail records indicate that the victim of that alleged crime is a male. There have been no reports that Aguirre became violent with any of the Burke Health staff.